Haven't owned my GSh for a long time, but I'll tell you as much as I know. In my opinion its an amazing car, the CVT and hybrid battery are amazing. Warranty is 8 years/100K for the battery. Most people don't need the battery replaced at all, but there have been failures before 100K (covered by warranty). If you buy, I would suggest getting a car that has had the battery replaced recently for peace of mind. I would also suggest getting an 08+ because there were cosmetic changes and first year models always have issues.

I might avoid getting a GS450h with over 100k miles as that is when the hybrid batt/power train warantee expires. I have owned my GS for 3 years now and Lexus completely replaced the battery and hybrid drive (about $6k) at 83k miles. From talking to my brother that is a mechanic at local Lexus dealership, he says that they will honor the warantee after this mileage.

What is your opinion and feedback on owning this car? Specifically reliability of the CVT and battery.

Reason for my question is simple - I'm considering getting a 2007 model for my wife to replace her 2006 Civic Hybrid and want to know what the long term reliability of the battery and CVT is.

What is the warranty from Lexus for the battery replacement? (years and mileage).

What has been the average mileage of this model before the battery needs replacing?

HI bud, to me the major risk is the hybrid battery around 100k miles. There are quite a few of us who had them replaced by Lexus. Outside of that my GS 450h (132k now) is pretty flawless. I had a HID bulb go out once.

No issues with the CVT, its a very stout tranny. Note the trunk is on the small side.

Its my first hybrid and I loved the experience. My wife has driven it quite a few times and was fine with it (too low for her now so she doesn't drive it lol). Its rare, people still ask questions "its a hybrid, thats crazy" and its quiet since the car runs on the battery power quite a bit.

It gets the 23 MPG as advertised and its quite the bullet, most people that I've let drive it are shocked at how quick it is. I've gotten some great MPG on the highway 28-33 depending on driving conditions.

What is your opinion and feedback on owning this car? Specifically reliability of the CVT and battery.

Reason for my question is simple - I'm considering getting a 2007 model for my wife to replace her 2006 Civic Hybrid and want to know what the long term reliability of the battery and CVT is.

What is the warranty from Lexus for the battery replacement? (years and mileage).

What has been the average mileage of this model before the battery needs replacing?

Although I only had mine up to 70K it was problem free only issue I had was the water pump going early and the battery needing to be reset for some error code. Like Lexfather said there have been some issue's with other members at 100K I think you should look for 08 and up as the price should have come down with the 4GS being out also the trunk space was a little bigger in the 08 and up.

I have an 07 with 90k miles and now im starting to fear the dreaded message. The service advisor I spoke with at Lexus Westminster said that location has only had to change the battery pack in on vehicle, RX400h. He assured me they were super reliable, yet I browse through the different threads and it seems common place. Kinda bummed out now.

155k on mine now, I've done 65K in it myself over 3 years of ownership and I still love it. Not cheap when things go wrong if its out of warranty though! My hybrid battery is still working fine, I don't get 100% charge but as far as I'm aware I never had throughout my entire ownership!
Only problems I've had was a misfire, wheel bearing, exhaust corrosion, and suspension bush deteriorate! All of which were out of warranty! These are general wear and tear items though so could of happened on any car! Probably due a water-pump failure at some point though seeing as its getting on a bit in age/mileage! Other than that I can't complain! I shall see how the boot(trunk) holds up in a few months when I have a new addition to my family hehe!

Edit
Oh and a headlight bulb (HID), dont get that done at the dealer if you can help it though, as they charged me £172 for the bulb alone!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks everyone for the input and feedback. Its very much appreciated.

The reason why I posted this thread to begin with was because the battery in my wife's 2006 Civic Hybrid needed replacing and the car is no longer under warranty. Cost to replace the battery including labor is a little over $5K.

To cut a long story short, I sweet talked a Honda rep at Honda Canada and Honda replaced the battery for free as a goodwill gesture and I only had to pay the labor cost which was under $300.

So the plan to replace her car is now on hold as we will keep the car for a couple of years. Its paid for, very reliable and in excellent condition. It doesn't make sense to go into debt and buy a $30K vehicle (that's what the 2007 GS400h's are going for now in Canada).

Does anybody know if Lexus is know for helping their consumers? My 07 GS 450H that I just bought 2.5 months ago has a bad hybrid battery and it only has 85k miles on it but the 8 years was up back in October. CAN YOU F$#@$%# believe my situation? I'm pretty seasoned in the car business too, and yet I'm still finding myself in a "Used Car Horror Story" Its $6k to replace, and I even did my homework and researched the battery longevity. I'm not sure what angle to take. The beg and plead angle with Lexus, or go the other route which would be trying to sue the dealership I bought it from or at least beg and plead with them, but so far they are saying that the extended warranty i purchased doesn't cover the hybrid system, thanks for mentioning that. I feel like a retarded person, i just put myself in such a bad spot. HELP!!!

can you help alittle here please.
I got a 2007 GS450h with 127000 miles on it . very clean . 2 weeks ago.
The MPG doesnt show better that 18 . and the battry lossing it's bar very fast and charge also very fast , also from the monitor I can tell the electric motor rarlly use by system.
is it normal??????????????????????
what can effect the MPG this much.
I heard of 24 in city and 30 in highways.
I mostly drove in the city .
Appriciate to share your experiance .during a week car exactlly used 1.5 tank . and I didn't that much drove it